Text| Xiangjie Knowledge Bureau
Editor| Xiangjie Knowledge Bureau
At the dawn of historical records, Semitic speakers seem to have appeared in Mesopotamia and soon achieved remarkable results in the first Kish dynasty and in many parts of northern Sumeria.
Around 3000 BC, rulers with the name Semite had established their own state.
One of them was Alusassi (or Uruk), a contemporary of Lugar Zaghi of Uruk, the last Sumerian ruler, who "subdued Elam and Bala (Barasi)", thus starting the trend of regional empires.
The earliest account of Akkadian appears in an inscription by Uruk's Enshakhana, who claimed to have defeated Akkad – suggesting that Akkad existed long before the Sumerian royal family claimed that Sargon of Akkadian founded Akkad.
Sargon is often considered the first ruler of the combined empire of Akkadian and Sumer, although recently discovered data suggest that the Sumerians also expanded under previous kings, including Lugar-Anne-Mandou of Adabu, Iannatum of Lagash, and Lugar-Zagi-si
The reputation of this early founder of Semitic rule was known as the Sargon "rightful king" of Akkad, probably a title he received when he gained power (23rd century BC), who defeated and captured Lyg Tashi, conquering his empire.
The earliest records of Akkadian date back to the Sargon era. Sargon is believed to be the son of Raiboom or Iti-Bell, a humble gardener and possibly a prostitute or priestess of Ishtar or Inana.
A legend related to the Sargons of the Neo-Assyrian era: "My mother was a changer and I did not know my father. My father's brothers loved the mountains.
My city is Azul Pirano (wilderness herb field) located on the banks of the Euphrates River. My fickle mother conceived me and gave birth to me in secret.
She put me in a wick grass basket and sealed my lid with asphalt. She threw me into the river that didn't cross me. The river lifted me up and brought me to Aki.
Aki, the man who carried the water, took me as his son and raised me. Aki appointed me his gardener, and when I was a gardener, Ishtar gave me her love and I was king for many years. ”
Initially, Sargon was the wine steward of King Kish, his name was Ur-Zababa in Semitic, and later he became a gardener, responsible for cleaning irrigation canals. This gave him access to a disciplined workforce of workers who were probably his first soldiers.
Sargon replaced you Zababa, the crown was placed on Sargon's head, and he began his career of foreign conquest. He invaded Syria and Canaan four times, and spent three years completely conquering the "Western" states, uniting them with Mesopotamia into a "single empire."
However, Sargon took this process further, conquering many surrounding regions, establishing an empire as far away as the Mediterranean and Anatolia, and extending his rule to Elam, south to Majan (Oman), where he ruled for 56 years. Trade stretched from the silver mines of Anatolia to the lapis lazuli mines of Afghanistan, cedars in Lebanon and copper in Oman.
The consolidation of the Sumerian and Akkadian city-states reflected the growing economic and political power of Mesopotamia. The Empire's granary was a rain-fed farming system in northern Mesopotamia, and a series of forts were built to control the empire's wheat production.
Statues of Sargon were erected on the Mediterranean coast as a symbol of his victory, and cities and palaces were built with the spoils of conquered lands. Elamite and the northern part of Mesopotamia (Spartu) were also conquered, and Sumerian rebellions were suppressed. The discovery of the deed tablet dates back to the time of the struggle against Canaan and against Salak, king of Gutim.
Sargon, throughout his long life, showed special respect for the Sumerian gods, especially his patron deity Inana and Kish's warrior god Zababa.
He called himself "the anointed priest of Anu" and "Ensi the great of Ilil", and his daughter, the famous poet Enkhduana, was appointed priestess of the temple of your Nainna.
He also boasted of his conquest of "a quarter" - the lands around Akkad north (Spartu), south (Sumer), east (Elam) and west (Martu). Some earliest sources believe that he rebuilt the city of Babylon in a new location.
At the end of his reign, trouble grew. A later Babylonian document wrote: "In his old age all the lands betrayed him, and they besieged him in Akkad." But "he went out to fight, defeated them, brought them down, wiped out their army".
Soon after, "the Subaru (hill tribes) upstream also began to attack, but they succumbed to his weapons, Sargon settled their dwellings, and he hit them hard".
These difficulties erupted again during his son's reign. The uprising broke out during the 9-year reign of his son Mush who struggled to preserve the empire, and the 15-year reign of Mush's older brother, Tiger Ma Nister. The latter appears to have fought a naval battle with the 32 kings who had gathered against him. Both appear to have been assassinated.
Southern Larsin, the grandson of Sargon, who received the title of empire and, like his grandfather, faced rebellion at the beginning of his reign.
Southern Larsin also records the Akkadians' conquest of Ebra and Armani (also pronounced Amanum or Amanum. The Assyrians are direct descendants of the Akkadians, who to this day refer to Armenians through Armani inscriptions.
They are located between Kakimish and Ebra. To better manage the area, he built a royal residence in Terbulak, a crossroads in the center of the Kabul basin on the Yezra River.
Southern Larsin was said to have an army of more than 360,000 men, the largest of any country at the time. This allowed him to attack Ma Jiang (considered Oman), who also launched a rebellion South Larsin "marched towards Ma Jiang and personally captured Ma Jiang's king Mandanu". The main threat appears to come from climbers in the northeast.
A campaign against Luluby led to the carving of this famous stele, now preserved in the Louvre. This newly discovered wealth of the Akkadians may have been based on favorable climatic conditions, huge agricultural surpluses and confiscation of the wealth of other peoples
The economy is highly planned. After the Akkadian army set out from Terbulak and occupied a large area (100 acres) in Terreland, they destroyed nearby villages and brought agricultural and food distribution organizations under bureaucratic control. Grain was cleaned and rationed grain and oil were distributed into standardized containers made by urban potters.
On the public walls, including walls, temples, irrigation canals and waterways, taxes were paid on agricultural products and labor, generating a huge agricultural surplus. A stele of King Naram-Sin of Akkad, celebrating his victory over the Lurubis from Zagros.
IN LATER BABYLONIAN TEXTS, THE NAME AKKADIAN APPEARS ALONGSIDE SUMERIAN IN ROYAL TITLES, AS IN SUMERIAN LUGAL KI.EN. GIRKI URUKI or Akkadi Šar mongt Šumeri u Akkadi, translated as "King of Sumer and Akkad".
This title was obtained by the king who seized the intellectual and religious centers of Nippur, Sopotamia, South America.